@m99 Your interpretation is the one that makes the most sense m99. I think these same lyrics can apply to anyone though who shackled with a life or existence they feel is not entirely ideal, perhaps their is a lot about themselves that they wish they could find a away to change. That's the only way they'll ever feel free. The song is dark to some extent but I feel hopeful listening to it & we're dead if we no longer can feel hope.

General Comment"How about getting off of these antibiotics"
Stop worrying so much about your health, be healthy but not to the point you're making yourself sick.
"How about stopping eating when I'm filled up"
Stop comforting yourself with food, have control over your life.
"How about them transparent dangling carrots"
How about buying those diamond earrings you've wanted so bad but not brave enough to buy or wear?
"How about that ever elusive kudo"
Work on complimenting/praising yourself. (kudo means 'to praise')

"Thank you India
Thank you terror
Thank you disillusionment
Thank you frailty
Thank you consequence
Thank you thank you silence"
(thank you india for enlightening me... thank you terror for reminding me life could stop at any time, thank you dissilusionment for being there when i needed to pretend i wasnt unhappy, thank you frailty for reminding me i am strong, thank you consequence for making me think before i act/speak, thank you silence for letting me breathe and feel calm again.

"How about me not blaming you for everything"
it takes two to tango. i am responsible for things too.
"How about me enjoying the moment for once"
i need to stop complaining, worrying every second and actually live.
"How about how good it feels to finally forgive you"
i will let go of my anger and hurt.
"How about grieving it all one at a time"
i'm going to take one day at a time.

"The moment I let go of it was
The moment I got more than I could handle
The moment I jumped off of it was
The moment I touched down"
letting go of negativity has helped me feel better.

"How about no longer being masochistic"
let's stop being perverted.
"How about remembering your divinity"
and instead remember what God wants from us - to be good.
"How about unabashedly bawling your eyes out"
let's cry without being embarrassed of it.
"How about not equating death with stopping"
there is life after death.

I always thought it was interesting how her lyrics start out with personal statements, "Me not blaming you for everything," or, "Stop eating with I'm full up," but when it gets down toward the end of the song, she alters it to third person, "Remember YOUR divinity, "Balling YOUR eyes out." Seeing her on interviews, I think she had some self esteem issues, she can take ownership of her mistakes but not quite her own greatness. It's awesome that she can see the good that comes out of hardship, I hope that by now, so many years later, that she can see the beauty in herself as well.

@mizmiah I agreed with like 99.9% :) Insightful. Just a couple things I had a different view on. I thought of the dangling carrot as how we are always working for something, then when we get it, there is yet another thing to go after. It's like how materialism can never satisfy, it is transient, and it's not what can fill your soul, which is what we really are wanting, even if we don't know it consciously. And just wanted to say I don't think "masochistic" is always about sex. It's really about self destructive behavior and getting addicted to them. Oh, and I thought of "grieving it one at a time" meant that you don't have to drown in grief, you can face it a little at a time. Just my thoughts as I don't think there's a right or wrong on this, just different perspectives :)

General CommentI agree with raysuq's insight into the transparent dangling carrot. I think, though, that she means it as something that we need to notice and eventually free ourselves from. I think that she's referring to the conditions of worth that our consumeristic society forces on us. We are constantly told in indirect ways that we are not good enough, but that earning and buying more will solve all our problems. Instead of helping us heal our false sense or inadequacy, our society accentuates that inadequacy and then tells us that consuming material goods is the answer. By swallowing this lie, we are enslaved into an endless carrot chase, and if we ever caught the carrot we'd see that it is no cure at all.
Alanis seems to have learned the India spiritual belief that the cure (self love and acceptance) is inside of you all along. The path to the cure is an inner one that requires self-control and patience. Instead of joining the carrot chase, simply sit still and do nothing, think nothing, and make peace with all the demons that have been chasing you.

@adamcohen81 Exactly right. This is a very Gen X song, coming to terms with the difference between the ways of the world as taught to us by our parents and the ways of the world as we encountered them. The dangling carrots weren't even invisible in our parents time, postwar USA was booming and one could make a great living at the same company for life. Loyalty was rewarded, pensions were real, and you could see the carrots driving you forward.

Jump ahead a few years to Gen X, and this is how we were taught the world works. If we weren't succeeding, if we couldn't quite see those carrots, well, just keep at it. Your 'kudos' will come. You'll be able to eat your fill some day. And so on.

With this song, Alanis is saying "thank you" to all those things that pointed out the lie of this view, and all the things that put into perspective what is really worth valuing. Terror, disillusionment, consequences, our own frailty, all these things we had to learn and accept on our own. At least the kids today know that material culture is a sham, but it took us a while to figure that out.

General Comment"How bout them transparent dangling carrots?" is my favortite line. Her words do sound off when you first hear them but if you think about it, they make perfect sense. What do people attach to horses heads to keep them walking? Carrots dangling infront of their noises, as they move so do the carrots- they are after the carrot but it keeps them going. In life we have transparent dangling carrots- something always infront of us to keep us going. Something we tie ourselves to so we always have hope and never give up.

General CommentFor me its about gratitude, and being thankful even for the experiences which arent pleasurable or positive, primarily because all experience has something to add to our evolution and spiritual development.

My OpinionWell i think she is talking about her love life as well, simple because she talks about How about how good it feels to finally forgive you. My opinion is this, Different songs represent different things to different people, depending on what they are going through at the current time.

General CommentMy take on the kudos line is this: When you give someone kudos, it's like a compliment ("kudos to the chef"), it's some greek thing, so the ever-elusive kudos I guess would be the need to be appreciated, people don't recieve comliments enough.
A great song, Alanis' voice is always so raw and powerful and these lyrics are so touching